Welcome to my blog. The fine folks at the BeyeNETWORK™ have provided me with this forum to offer opinion and insight into the worlds of telcommunications (telecom) and business activity monitoring (BAM). But as with any blog, I am sure that we (yes we... since blogging is a "team sport"...) will explore other tangents that intersect the concepts of telecom and BAM.

In this world of "Crossfire" intellectual engagement (i.e. I yell louder therefore I win the argument), I will try to offer my opinion in a constructive manner. If I truly dislike a concept, I will do my best to offer an alternative as opposed to simply attempting to prove my point by disproving someone else's. I ask that people who post to this blog follow in my lead.

John Myers, a senior analyst in the business intelligence
(BI) practice at Enterprise Management Associates (EMA). In this role,
John delivers comprehensive coverage of the business intelligence and data
warehouse industry with a focus on database management, data integration, data
visualization, and process management solutions. Prior to joining EMA, John
spent over ten years working with business analytics implementations associated
with the telecommunications industry.

Recently in Legislation Category

This week Verizon and Google put together a proposal on Net Neutrality. Many in the “free as free beer as opposed to free speech” Net Neutrality crowd found the announcement to be a little less than they expected from Google.

Verizon’s position is not surprising to me. They want to provide the backbone that makes companies competitive ( they also want to charge for it… ). Google surprised me a bit just as they did other groups. However, I think this shows that Google is seeing where the US stands in terms of broadband access speeds.

I believe the issue that for “free as free beer” Net Neutrality groups like Public Knowledge is that Google is starting the view Internet access as something that can be a competitive advantage rather than just a given. Telecom carriers aren’t purposefully NOT implementing bandwidth… They are just looking for the business model that makes viable.

How do you view Google’s “change”/adjustment in Net Neutrality position?

“An appeals court ruling that rejects this argument could draw Congress into the matter to give the FCC the power to regulate broadband as an information service. Several key lawmakers have already drafted legislation to mandate network neutrality. Or it could force the agency to consider reclassifying broadband as a more heavily regulated telecommunications service that would be subject to non-discrimination rules.”

By putting this case into the legal process, Comcast could very well close out any wiggle room associated with the FCC on the definitions of Net Neutrality and even make the world of Internet access even more regulated rather than less…

“When Google does it, it is cool. When the NSA does it, it is creepy…”

I usually use to to frame an argument that looks at how many people give private organizations lots of power to look at their personal data and complain when government organizations do similar things…

I believe that telematics offers a great opportunity for both telecom service providers and car owners to provide a level of service and information that we/I can even imagine right now. Therese Cory does a great job of looking at some of new telematics developments in Europe.

However, I have to ask if the information that telematics will base its value on will outweigh the risk to personal information?

Cory’s article talks a lot about saving energy with telematics to reduce carbon footprint as well as increase safety of the roadways. However, can this information be abused?

Will the governments who hope to increase safety issue “virtual tickets” to drivers who speed?

Will vendors or telecom providers mis-use the data associated with telematics and violate privacy laws?

These are all key questions that I think should be answered sooner as opposed to late.

NOTE – Jeff Jonas is one of the smartest people that I have ever seen speak. His blog is one of the great places for discussion of information management and privacy topics… Get it out when you get a chance.

However, most of people understand the concept of “barriers to entry” and the reasons why AT&T pays a subsidy to Apple for the iPhone…. Then again most people who REALLY want an iPhone either switch to AT&T or drop another chip into an “unlocked” iphone…. :)

What do you think about the renewed interest in exclusive handset agreements?

“Just 57 percent of Americans use broadband services, although 91 percent of American homes have access to them, according to a report released last month by the Pew Internet & American Life Project.”

While I am not in a position to argue about the specifics relating to the penetration of broadband in the US, I am perfectly willing to argue against the concept that if people access to broadband and do not use it then they are not interested.

Those users might not be interested in that particular price point ( … particularly in these economic times… ) or may not have the “PC literacy” to take advantage of broadband access. But I can definitely say that a lack of participation cannot be equated to a lack of interest.

“Even amidst so much economic uncertainty, the fact remains that telecommunications is a key input factor in economic growth. Telecommunications is a facilitator of socio-economic advancement and is a critical utility for economic development, much like water and energy.”

So in this particular case, I agree with President Obama position on broadband access to encourage economic growth. However, I’m probably at odds with the administration on exactly how that broadband access should be provided…. Simply “berating” the telecoms into providing cheaper access isn’t the answer. Nor is probably simply subsidizing broadband access.